Thursday, August 31, 2017

Hellcannon’s 2010 debut album was a serious
thrashing force that put the band on the map. And though there wasn’t much
fanfare around 2014’s “Terminal”, the band soldiered on with another release,
putting out “Return To The Wasteland” earlier this year. The good news for fans
of Hellcannon is that this album is very faithful to the band’s crushing style
of black/thrash metal. Hellcannon definitely takes a lot of influence from the
more extreme metal subgenres, as this record is filled with tremolo-picking and
blastbeats (“Warhaze”, the opener, even kicks off with both of those elements
after a short intro). Despite the band’s clear affinity towards these other
styles, they remain distinctly a thrash band. This is because the band often
injects more typical thrash riffs into each of their songs, complimented with
the classic kick-snare thrash beat.

Much like on their debut record, Hellcannon
has put together a potent collection of songs. Bands that lean in a more
extreme direction often fail to write memorable hooks, but Hellcannon has no
shortage of interesting ideas. “Road Warriors” in particular stands out as one
track that is unique because of its less aggressive approach. Of course, the
vocals are still a blackened affair, but musically, the song is much tamer than
the band’s normal high-speed forceful thrashing, instead opting for a speed metal sound. Aside from this track, songs
like “Day of Demise” and especially “Disarmed and Deceased” (which almost feels
like a punk song) stand out as being some of the band’s better works. While most of the album is pretty fast, there are moments like the intro to "Blood Moon Rising" where the band unearths huge riffs that allow rolling double bass to take centre stage.

“Return To The Wasteland” doesn’t really
have any weak points. It feels slightly less impactful than “Infected With
Violence”, but that might just be the result of having listened to that album
for the last 7 years, and this new one a much shorter amount of time.
Ultimately, “Return To The Wasteland” very accurately describes what Hellcannon
is about, and that is delivering a brutal, black/thrash experience!

Sunday, August 27, 2017

With Motorhead unfortunately no longer with
us, Tankard have now become the undisputed Kings of consistency. “One Foot In
The Grave” marks their longest break between albums since 1998, at just 3
years. Nevertheless, this record picks up exactly where “R.I.B.” left off, and
offers a sufficiently thrashy experience. The band’s music is still predicated
on wonky palm-muted riffs underneath Gerre’s hilariously animated vocals. While
Tankard may be fairly predictable or safe, they somehow never run out of
interesting riffs. This style of riffing lends itself to being quite memorable,
so even though there are no real surprises on this album, it doesn’t feel
monotonous or overdone.

As with many Tankard records, the real
highlight is Gerre’s ramblings. The band’s focus on “One Foot In The Grave” has
shifted away from beer (blasphemy!), instead opting for social issues. This
isn’t the first time Tankard has explored this direction, and truthfully, they
do it pretty well. Sometimes the lyrics don’t translate properly to English,
which is part of the fun with this band. Other times the lyrics are just so
absurd that you can’t help but laugh ("Arena of the True Lies" being the prime example). Tankard may not sing about beer this time
around, but they’re still about having a good time.

Musically, Tankard is still on point. The
majority of songs on this record are fast, and even the slower stuff still
feels upbeat. Gerre’s voice hasn’t diminished at all, and the remaining
musicians are still completely on point. I’m always a little surprised that
with bassist Frank Thorwarth being an original member, his bass is never that
loud in the mix, but the guitars have such a nice crunch that it doesn’t
diminish from the sound too much. The production as a whole is relatively
clean, but the guitars have enough bite to them that it isn’t a problem.

Relative to some of their previous records,
“One Foot In The Grave” is about up to par. The quality has been fairly
consistent throughout the last decade, with 2010’s “Vol(l)ume 14” being a clear
standout. “One Foot In The Grave” is not quite up to the standard of this
record, but otherwise exceeds some of the other releases during this time.
Fortunately Tankard is the kind of band where you could listen to any of their
modern stuff on shuffle and never be disappointed. The band is incapable of
writing bad songs, and “One Foot In The Grave” is another testament to that fact!